‘Young and the Restless’ Spoilers: Y&R Writing Special Storyline to Honor Kristoff St John

The Young and the Restless will honor Kristoff St John and his character Neil Winters in late April 2019. A special storyline will air that pays tribute to his many years on the daytime drama. Kristoff died unexpectedly at his home on February 3, 2019. His cause of death is still pending but he suffered from depression and had since his son’s suicide a little more than four years ago.

Young and the Restless Spoilers: April 2019 Is Neil Winters Story – Tribute to Actor Kristoff St John

Y&R has a storyline planned in Spring to honor Kristoff St John. This will give the writers time to develop a plot although his exit will have to be explained before then. Since Y&R tapes about four weeks in advance there will be an abrupt departure of Neil Winters that is unplanned.

Previous Executive Producer and Head Writer Mal Young wrote Kristoff St John off the show with little fanfare but recently brought him back. Kristoff’s final scenes on the show aired Wednesday February 6 but were open-ended. His final comments on Young and the Restless were, fittingly, about caring for your family.

To honor Kristoff St. John, #YR will air a special tribute to him during the show on Friday, Feb. 8. His final episode of The Young and the Restless will air tomorrow. Please join us in saying goodbye to a beloved member of the Y&R and @CBSDaytime family. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/HXTLQGrdWt

Y&R: Kristoff St John As Neil Winters

Kristoff St John joined Young and the Restless as Neil Winters in 1991. He earned nine daytime Emmy nominations and won a Daytime Emmy in 1992 for outstanding younger actor in a drama series. On the NBC soap, Neil Winters struggled with alcohol addiction and had many love interests during his 27 years in Genoa City.

Most recently he was the stabilizing patriarch on Y&R for the Winters/Hamilton family. Neil Winters encouraged his son after the death of his beloved wife and then his daughter as she faced a prison sentence. Neil was the voice of reason that helped keep the family anchored.

On Friday, February 8, Young and the Restless aired a tribute to Kristoff St John with a special montage of Neil Winters scenes.

Actor Struggled After Son’s Suicide

Julian St. John died in late 2014 of an apparent suicide while in the hospital for treatment of mental health issues. Since Julian’s death, Kristoff St John himself fought depression. He was hospitalized in October 2017 after threatening to commit suicide. He later took time off from filming the Young and the Restless to get the help he needed.

Kristoff St John’s last post on twitter indicates his son’s death was still weighing heavily on his heart. On January 21, 2019, he retweeted the post from a Young and the Restless fans, seen below, and commented, “Never a truer word was spoke. Thanks for posting this”.

Grieving the loss of a child is a process. It begins on the day your child passes, and ends the day the parent joins them.

Young and the Restless – Tribute to Neil Winters

Several people close to Kristoff have commented he died of a broken heart. Fans are grateful that the actor and character will get the sendoff he so richly deserves after his many years in Genoa City. Longtime viewers have said that it feels as if they have lost a loved one of their own after learning of the star’s passing.

With Kristoff St John not filming Y&R exit scenes, the prevailing theory is Y&R may write a final story for Neil Winters that mirrors the actor’s real-life struggle. It may be about depression resulting in the Hamilton/Winters family losing the patriarch and the fallout from the loss. Keep an eye out for this special Neil Winters – Kristoff St John story starting in April.

Come back again to Soap Dirt for all the latest and best Young and the Restless spoilers.

Heather Brueck

I have been hooked on the soaps for many years. I still remember sitting on my grandmother’s lap as she watched her “stories”. Today, ‘Bold and Beautiful’ and ‘Young and the Restless’ keep me glued to my set. My love of all things soap coupled with my love of writing makes me a perfect fit with the Soap Dirt team.